Can-head-feeding machine.



J. W. DIXON. CAN HEAD FEEDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 28. 19 11.

Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

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M W fi mums Farms. Inc. um '(Asmnnrem or c I. w. DIXON. .CAN HEAD FEEDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.28' IQII.

Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

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UNITED STATES-PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES W. 15136 I f, (SE enrolled. iiiiii ois, .assrenoir AMERICAN can. coMraNY; or

. nnwj sronar, N; Y., .a coarona'rron or NEW JERS Y:

X cert ficate-FEEDI GMacrame.

all "'IIOHl/ifi may concern: Be it known that I, James .VV. DIXON, a

citizen of the United States, residing in Austin, Chicago, in the county 'of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Can-HeadFeeding Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for feed- 10 ing can heads'or similar articles from a stack one at a time. v

The invention has been designed more particularly ton use in'connection with the feeding of can-heads for sanitary cans, in which the heads are generally provided with a. layer of packing or sealing material in the groove around the edge, but it will .be evident that the invention may also be used for feeding other kinds of can'heads and similar articles.-

' Hitherto, great difliculty has been experiencedin feeding such heads one 'at a time from a stack, especially by screw thread feeds or similar type feeds, because of the fact that the packing or sealing-material, which is generally of a sticky'orgummy substance, causes the can heads to stick 'together, and even when a head is separated from the main portion of the stack, the pack ing material will stretch sometimes several inches before it finally breaks and allows the separated can head to fall freely.

My improved mechanism, positively separates each can head from the remainder of the stack to such an extent that any sticking together of two can heads does not afiect the speed and operation of the device, and my mechanism is also of an exceedingly simple character, having few parts, and can 10 be operated at very high speed, and in experiments, I have operated it to feed successfully as high as three hundred heads per minute, but in actual practice, a speed of one hundred and fifty heads per minute will be as high as is necessary.

I have shown my improvements as adapt-.

ed to feed heads from ahorizontally dis: posed stack to a machine rotatable about a horizontal axis, but itwill be evident that f the improvements may also be used to feed heads from stacks in other positions and to other types of machines.

My invention furthermore consists'in the improvements in the parts and devices and in the combinations'of parts and devices ,been' omitted.

v i Specification of Letters Patent-f" a n Sg'pt, 21, 15, Applicaitionifiled December 28, 1911-:- Serial No. $8,240. 7

herein shown, described and made the sub ect matter of the claims; I

In the drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure lis an end elevation of a can head feeder embodying my improvements, showing the same adjacent a carrier of any well known type of double seaming machine Fig. 2 is a plan view of the structure, shown in Fig. 1, the cam having Fig. 3 isa longitudinal, vertical section upon an enlarged scale, taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4

is a transverse, vertical SBCil011,,t1 l6 Il substantially on the line 0 E f;v

5 is a horizontal, transverse sec tion, upon an enlargedscale, taken.onjitlieline 5 5 'of Fig. 1, and-Fig. (iis a detail'view of the feed finger employed in my mechanism.

In the drawing, 10 denotesft he carrier of any well known formof vimichine to which the can heads are adapted to be fed. Disposed adjacent to the carrier 10'is my im-' proved can head i feederf'which' comprises a head or plate 11 having secured thereto means for holding and guiding alstack of canheads, said means',. asi-llustrated,"coxnprising three parallelbars' arranged inf the form'of a semi circle. The head'11 is provided with a circular recess 13, having a diameter slightly wlargerthanthat of-the .85

4 can heads 14: to be fedJ The rods '12 are so disposed as to have their inner edges concentric with the recess 13, 'so that the can heads will slide easily from the rods 12 into the recess in the head or. plate'l ll- Mounted on the outer face of the plate 11-,as by means of screws 15, are stop plates 16, one on each side of the recess 13. in'ach' of-the'plates 16, where the same extend's'over the recess plates, but so arranged'that the outermost can head may he slid downwardly over the 106 face of the plate 11 and guided'by the'cut out portions 17. Also located on the outer face of the head or plate 11 below the horizontal diameter of the recess 13- areslidable plates 18, each of said'plates 1'8 extend-'j' fi I ing inwardly slightly beyond the sides of i-g the recess 13, and having their inn'erends 19- curved and each adapted. toenga'ge .the. edge of the'outermost vcarihead oiifthe stack, and hold said head from falling. Each of 1.10

'- outwardly through the recess 13 by means of a semi-cylindrical member 24 which is guided and supported on the upper pair of rods 12 by means of bent over hooks 25.

The semi-cyhndric member 24 is provided "1' on its front end with a depending segmental flange 2a, adapted to engage the lowermost iortions of the inner can head of the stack. lhe member 24 is normally forced against the stack of can heads by means of Wei hts 27 attached to ropes 28 which run over it lers 2'. and 30, and which are at their other ends attached to the member 24 as at 31. I have shown means which will warn the operator when the supply of can heads in the stack is getting low, said means comprising an insulated member 32, attached to the lower bar or rod 12, and a contact 33 attached to the movable member 24, said members 32. and 33. when in contact, bein ada ted to close an electric bell circuit inc icatec as 34. On the rear of the member 24 is a handle 35 by means of which the operator may retract the member 24 while he 15 utting in an additional supply of can hea An important feature of my invention consists in having the member 24 disposed above the lower rod 12 so that additional heads may be placed in the guides 12 without stopping the movements of the cutting out mechanism at the end of the head, since it will be evident that the operator may place an additional sup 1y of heads, such as indicated by the dotte lines 36 in Fig. 3, in the member 24, and hold said heads 36 up against the remainder of the stack in the guides 12, while at the same time withdrawing the member 24 by means of the handle 35, and thus at all times keeping the outernu'st head of the stack against the stop plates 16. To cut out the outermost head, I provide a lever 37, pivoted to an extension 38 on the head 11, said lever 37 having, at its inner end, pivotally mounted thereon, a feed finger 39, said feed fin er :59 being normally is ring ressed inwar ly against the end of t m stac and can heads as by means of a sprin 40. As will be noted from the drawing, tie feed finger 39 is movable or oscillates in planes which-are erpcndicular to the planes of the can ends. he head or plate 11 is provided with two vertically extending grooves 41 and 42 in which the finger 89 5 adapted to reciprocate. 'lhe finger 39 is provided with a cut-out tooth 43 which is adapted to pass between the 11 per edges of the outermost can head and t ie one next to it, and has a slotted portion 44 adapted to engage the upper edge of the outermost can head and push the same downwardly, thus forcing the plates 18 apart and allowing the outermost can head to fall. The finger 39 is furthermore provided with a de ending portion 45, adapted to fit the outer ace of the can heads and to ride over the same to aroperly position the finger, so that the teeth 43 will engage between the two outer can heads. Movement is given to the lever 37 by any suitable means, such, for instance, as a cam 46, having a cam roove 47 therein adapted to enage a rol or 48 on the outer end of the ever 37.

In operation, the finger 39 engages the outermost can head and pushes the same down against the action of the plates 18 and as the outermost can head passes down below the center of the recess 13, the remainder of the stack of can heads will be pushed outwardly and stopped by means of the stop plates 16, and the outermost head of the stack again can ht and held by means of the spring presse members 18. lhe finger 39,having completed its downward stroke, and having pushed the outermost can head beyond the bottom oi the plate 11, is then retracted to a point where the tooth 43 is slightly above the uppermost edge of the can head now in position be tween the plates 18, and on account of the design of t ie portion 4:) of the finger, upon a downward stroke, the tooth 41-5 will be again properly guided to a position between the two outer can heads of the stack.

'1 have described one form of my inven tion, but I wish it to be understood that the same is merely illustrative, and that various changes and modifications may be made without departin from the spirit of the invention, and al such changes and modications are contemplated as fairly come within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:-

1. A device for feeding articles from a stack, one at a time, including, in combination: a substantially horizontally arranged open-ended stack holder adapted to support the articles verticallvvon edge; a feeding member adapted to flex the endmost article of the stack relative to and away from the end of the stack, said member being movable back and forth across one edge of the end of the stack, and also having means to engage the edge of the article; means for moving said feeding member transversely to the axis of the stack to feed the article so engaged; and means for pushing the stack in a substantially horizontal direction toward the point where the articles are separated one y one from the stack.

2. In a device for feeding can heads and its projected position, and means for push- 'simila r articles from a stack one at a time, in

combination, a stack holderhaving a pertorated head through which the heads are adapted to "pass, a lever pivoted adjacent prising a' vertical plate at one end, said plate having a recess therein conforming in shape and size to the can heads,- a lever pivoted adjacent said plate and having a yieldingly mounted finger thereon adapted to be moved back and forth over the end of thestack and cut out one head at'a time.

4. In a device for feeding can heads and similar articles from a stack one at a time, in combination, a horizontally disposed stack holder comprising a plate at one end having a recess therein through which the can heads are adapted to pass,- a stop for preventing more than the outermost head in the stack from being moved beyond said recess, movablemeans for preventing accidental down- Ward'movement of said outermost head in ing the outermost head downwardly. .5; In a device for feeding can heads and similar articles from a stack one at a time,

' in combination, a horizontally disposed stack holder-comprising a plate at one end having a recess therein throughwhich the can heads are adapted to pass, a stop for pre venting more than the outermost head in the stack from being moved beyond said recess, movable means for preventing accidental downward movement of said outermost head in its projected positiommeans for pushing the outermost head downwardly, and means for .forcing the stack toward said stop.

r 6. In a device for feeding can heads and can heads are adapted to pass, a stop for "similar articles from a stack one at a time, in combination, a horizontally disposed stack holder comprising a plate at one end having a recess therein through which the preventing more than the outer-most head in the stack from being moved beyond said recess, yieldlngly mounted means for preventing accidental downward movement of said outermost head in its projected position, and means for pushing the outermost ead downwardly, thereby moving the yieldingly mounted means to allow the outermost can head to pass.

. 7. In a device for feeding can heads and similar articles from a stack one at atime, in combination, a stack holder having a perforated head at one end thereof. through.

which the can heads are adapted to pass, rigidly mounted means spaced fromsaid head a distance equal to the thickness of a can head, said means projecting over the recess in the head to thereby form a stop to engage the end head oi the stack, holding means including a yieldingly mounted member located between the head-and said means and adapted to engage the edge-of theoutermost can head, and movable ineansadaptedto engage the edge of the outermost can head and push the same past the yieldingly mounted member.

8. In a. device for feeding can heads and similar articles from a. stack one at a time, in combination, a stack holder having a periorated head at one end thereof through which the canheads are adapted to pass, rigidly mounted means spaced from said head a distance equal .to the thickness of a can head, said means projecting over the recessin the head to thereby form a stop to engage the end head of the stack, holding forated head at one end thereof through which the heads are adapted to pass, a stop plate spaced fIOlTLSiild head'a distance equal to the thickness of a can head and extending over the aperture in the head, holding means including a slidable plate mounted between said stop plate and the head and normally yieldingly projecting inwardly beyond the edge of the aperture, and adapted to engage a portion of the edge of the outermost can head of the stack and prevent the same from dropping, and a movable member having a yieldingly mounted finger thereon, said finfier having a tooth adapted to engage between the outermost can head and the one adjacent thereto, and having also a portion adapted to engage the edge of the outermost can head.

10. In a device "for feeding can heads and similar articles from a stack one at a time, in combination, a stack holder having a periorated head atone end thereof through which the heads are adapted to pass, a stop plate spaced from said head a distance equal to the thickness ofa can head and extending over the aperture in the head, holding means including a slidable plate mounted between said step plate and the head and normally yieldingly projected inwardly beyond the edge oi the aperture", and adapted to engage I engage the the edge of the outermost can head of the thereon a sprmg pressed finger, and means for oscillating said lever.

. 11. In a device for feeding can heads and similar articles from a stack one at a time, I

in combination, a stack holder having a perforated head at one end thereof through which the heads are adapted to pass, a stop plate spaced from said head a distance equal. to the thickness of a can head and extending over the aperture in the head, holding means including a slidable plate mounted between said stop plate and the head and normally yieldingly projecting inwardly beyond the edge of the aperture, and adapted to engage a portion ofthe edgeof the outermost can head of the stack and prevent the same from dropping, a movable member having a yieldingly mounted finger thereon, said finger having a tooth adapted to engage between the outermost can head and the one adjacent thereto, andhaving also a portion adapted to edge of the outermost can head, and means for pressing the stack outwardly against the stop plate.

12. In a devicefor feeding can heads and similar articles from a stack one at a time, in combination, a stack holder having a perforated head at one end thereof through which the heads are adapted vto pass, a stop plate spaced from said head a distance equal to the thickness of a. can head and extending over the aperture in the head, holding means including a slidable plate mounted between said stop plate and the head and normally yieldingly projected inwardly beyond the edge of the aperture, and adapted to engage the edge of the outermost can head of the stack,.a lever pivoted adjacent said head, said lever having pivotally mounted thereon a spring pressed finger, means for oscillating said lever, and means for pressing the stack outwardly against the stop plate.

' 13. In a device for feeding can heads and similar articles from a stack one at a time, in combination, a stack holder having a perforated head at one end thereof through which theheads are adapted to pass, a pair of stop plates spaced from said head a distance equal to the thickness of a can head and locatedon opposite sides of the aperture in the head,

ranged so as moving said member.

having portions thereof 1 JAMESWrDIXOR r and extending partially thereacross, a pair wardly beyond the edge of the aperture and and the head, and each normally yieldingly' projected inadapted-to engage a portion ofthe edge of the outermost can head of the stack, and a.

movable member having, mounted thereon a pivoted finger, said finger having a tooth adapted to engage between the outermost can head and theone adjacent thereto and having also a portion adapted to engage the edge of the outermost can head and push the same.

14. In a device a stack, one at a time, in combination: a.

horizontally arranged stack holder compris- L ing means for supporting and guiding the stack proper and a slidably mounted substantially semi-cylindrical, auxiliary stack supporting member movable relatively to for feeding articles from said means and adaptedto support a reserve supply of articles, said member being argage the innermost article ofthe main stack to have-its outermost end en-- to thereby push the latter horizontally along the stack holder to the, heads, a stop plate having a portion thereof spaced from said head. a distance equal to the thickness of a can head and extending over the recess in the head, hol means including a plate slidably mounte normally yieldingly projected inwardly-he and means for cutting out the outermost articles, one at a. time, from the end of the stack, substantially as R a stack one at a' time,

96 between said stop plate and the head and yond the edge of the recess,and being adapt, ed to engage a portion of the edge of the a 7 outermost can head of the stack below the center line, a movable member adjacent said head,'said movable member'having a yield- I ingly mounted finger thereon, and means for Witnesses PEARL ABRAMS, 

